


Baedeker's Guide to Trollesund

by KillClaudio



Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Gen, Travel, Travel Writing, Trollesund, Worldbuilding, Yulebuilding, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillClaudio/pseuds/KillClaudio
Summary: Note from the Bodleian Library:This curious document was donated by Mrs Linda Wilson of Port Meadow, who found it wedged in the back of a chest of drawers inherited from her great-aunt. As far as is known, there is no port, town or settlement called 'Trollesund' anywhere on the Barents Sea. Its origin is a mystery. Perhaps it was blown through a window from another world…
Comments: 30
Kudos: 37
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Baedeker's Guide to Trollesund

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HopefulNebula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopefulNebula/gifts).



> Huge thanks to me-fish for translating into Finnish, helping me think up fake place names, and generally being amazing.

  


#### The unofficial 'Capital of the North', Trollesund is a small town with a big reputation. Its charming collection of steep-roofed wooden houses and sweeping harbour are backed by sweet-scented pine forests and dramatic snow-capped peaks, all lit by the glow of the midnight sun and the magical shimmer of the Northern Lights.

  


* * *

> ### Gods and Devils
> 
> The local brew in Trollesund is a spirit made from wheat or barley, often distilled in people's cellars or spare bathtubs. It has two names: _jumalten juoma_ , which means 'drink of the gods', and _paholaisen pontikka_ , or 'the devil's moonshine'. That's not surprising given that's it's both delicious and strong enough to fell an ox.
> 
> Locals often add a slug to coffee or chocolatl to keep out the cold, and it's offered in most bars in town. Try a glass at _The White Bear_ , where they mix it with mountain cranberry or cloudberry juice while venerable portraits of past mayors stare down at you from the walls. At _Einarsson's Bar_ it's served straight up, in rough and ready surroundings much loved by Arctic sailors.

* * *

  


**Trollesund Archaeological Museum** traces the history of the Lapp coast from the hunter-gatherers of the Proto-Fisher period to the Age of Inquiry in the late eighteenth century. In spite of the permafrost hampering archaeological excavation, the museum boasts a wide array of bone harpoons, reed flutes, shell necklaces and carved wood figurines, but its most impressive exhibit is the mummified remains of five humans which date from around 6000 BC.

Uniquely among West Arctic cultures, each body bears an intricate tattoo of an animal on the upper-right arm. Archaeologists originally believed they represented a dæmon's settled form and were bestowed as part of a coming-of-age ritual, until Masi Woman was discovered in a bog in Norroway in 1974 with two tattoos. Current theories favour the idea that the tattoos were part of an elaborate marriage ceremony and depict the dæmon of the betrothed.

  


**The Arctic Explorers' Institute** provides a base of operations for various scientists and explorers studying the Arctic, housed in a beautiful Nordic Reformstil building from 1909. Visit in the evening for excellent lectures and an even better vodka selection. Recent visiting scholars have included J.P. Savinen, who gave an account of his time collecting traditional stories among the nomadic Lapp tribes, and D.V. Mikuschev's lecture on the challenges of star mapping in Yenisei. 

Try a glass of Vätsäri vodka, which is made just outside Trollesund and aged in cloudpine barrels to give it a deep honeyed flavour, or get adventurous with the institute's signature Bear's Paw cocktail, made with gin, vermouth and crushed black crowberries. The striking bronze globe covered in sinuous ridges which decorates the foyer is a tribute to Stanislaus Grumman's vital work on magnetic pole variations.

  


**Trollesund International Observatory** towers over the streets of Trollesund, its lofty glass dome visible from as far away as Reinøya Island. On clear nights, the observation room on the top floor is the best place in town to see the exhilarating phenomenon of the Northern Lights as vast shimmering curtains of green and pink flow across the sky, punctuated by streaks of fiery scarlet.

Experimental theologians at the Observatory will tell you that the lights are caused by solar particles colliding with Earth's upper atmosphere, but in Lapp myth the lights are the souls of former lovers who are reunited after death. The stories told by witch-clans are even stranger; they say that the Northern Lights are portals to other worlds, and it's true that from a certain angle the lights can look very like the skyline of a remote city. 

  


The **Oratory of St Michael** is a striking building designed by Renzo Rossi in 1712, the only one of his designs to be made entirely of wood. A Catholic order of the same name worshipped here until, in 1882, the head of the order was involved in a dispute with a visiting shaman from Yenisei. As the priest cast the shaman from the oratory, a great storm shook the tower and dislodged the bell, which fell straight on top of the priest's head.

The bell was never replaced, although local residents swear they can still hear it ringing during storms. The order was disbanded, and for the last century the building has functioned as a local parish church, although a highly decorative one. Most of the elaborately carved pew ends depict local animals, although you may spot a few mythical beings, including several of the trolls that give the town its name. 

  


**Kuningas Väinö Nature Reserve** , a rocky spit of land just outside Trollesund, is home to the world's largest population of cave-ghasts, which nest in the echoing caverns sculpted by millions of years of dripping water.

Among the other creatures that dwell in its unique ecosystem are wild boar, Arctic foxes and several different species of eagle, while narwhals and bowhead whales swim in the surrounding waters. The first snowfalls also bring the annual musk-deer migration, when massive herds sweep down from the mountains to forage for food in the taiga.

Come at night and you might see the eerie glow of auroraflies, which cluster in their thousands on the shores of the reserve. They're so sensitive to solar winds that they only light up when the Northern Lights are visible, reflecting the same colours seen in the sky.

* * *

  


> ### The Realm of the Witches
> 
> The Lake Enara witch-clan was already well-established in Lapland when the first humans settled here around 9000 years ago. Over the centuries witched have alternately been worshipped as goddesses and feared as demons, before settling into the current relationship of mutual respect.
> 
> Witches have few possessions and are semi-nomadic within their own territory, often travelling as far as the Near East and Central Asia in pursuit of diplomacy and learning. Each clan has its own language, and speaking the language of the sister-clans is a great sign of respect in witch culture.
> 
> The 10th century saw a fierce conflict break out between the eastern and western witch clans. Many historians believe that high levels of residual magic in the wake of the war were the cause of the Cold Age which swept across Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries.

* * *

  


> ### Best in Print
> 
> Whether you're prepping for your own polar expedition or want to be whisked away on an armchair adventure, these hair-raising stories will give you a whole new perspective on life in the North.
> 
> **A Prisoner of the Bears by Joatham Santelia** ( _Smith & Strange_, 4 guineas 10s) tops our list for Santelia's electrifying first-person narrative of being captured by the Panserbjørn.
> 
> You'll be equally enthralled by **In the Land of the Witches by Luned Pritchard** ( _Falkeshall & Co._, 5 guineas), a vivid journey through Lapland's most remote areas that guides readers through the nuance and complexity of witch-clan politics.
> 
> Take things at a slower pace with **First Frost by Erik Korhonen** ( _Fell Press_ , 12 guineas), a magnificent coffee-table tome filled with Korhonen's breathtaking photographs of arctic wolves and blue-collared owls. 
> 
> Truly innovative history books are few and far between, so we're especially impressed with **The Proto-Fisher People of L'Anse aux Meadows by Leonard Broken Arrow** ( _Smith & Strange_, 6 guineas), which traces the spread of this ancient tribe from Lapland to New Denmark.


End file.
